The Sheriff’s Department says violating the ban is a misdemeanor. The city manager says it is an infraction. A councilmember says the ordinance should be redrafted to clarify what the penalty is.
By Mark Bassett/Special to The Malibu Times
Local officials are in disagreement over what the penalty is for violating Malibu’s new beach smoking ban. The Malibu Lost Hill’s Sheriff’s Station, which is designated to enforce the prohibition, said the offense is a misdemeanor. Those found smoking could face a fine of $1,000 or six months in jail. But the city manager said it is just an infraction, with offenses carrying various fines.
The ordinance to prohibit smoking on the beaches went into effect last month. It is only enforceable at county-run beaches such as Zuma and Surfrider. The ban does not cover areas run by the state such as state beaches and the Malibu Pier. No penalty was included in the ordinance language when the council approved the prohibition. As a result, another ordinance, which states punishments for several offences including drinking alcohol on the beach, became the Sheriff Department’s guideline for enforcement of the smoking ban.
Councilmember Jeff Jennings, who voted against the ordinance, said the language should be redrafted to make smoking on the beach a citable offense, rather than a misdemeanor. But City Manager Katie Lichtig said it already is.
“It’s not a misdemeanor, it’s an infraction,” Lichtig said. “The first offence is $100; the second is $200 and the third offence is $500,” Lichtig said. When asked why Jennings and the members of the Sheriff’s Department were under the impression that the penalty for smoking on the beach was a misdemeanor, Lichtig responded, “We’re still in the implementation phase and we’re trying to work out the bugs.”
City Attorney Christi Hogin was contacted to provide clarification on what the actual penalty is, but she did not return several phone calls.
Meanwhile, the city will not be collecting $1,000 fines and populating the county jails with smokers just yet.
“The City Council only wants us to warn and advise people,” said Lt. Gloria Gressman, the Malibu liaison to the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station. “They don’t want us to issue a ticket; they just want compliance.”
Gressman said that the smoking ban isn’t enforceable at the Pier, Nicolas Beach, El Matador or Leo Carrillo, which are owned and operated by the state. Topanga Beach, while owned by the state, is deeded to the county. A temporary smoking ban is effect there until Sept. 15.
Hayden Sohm, the California Department of Parks and Recreation Malibu sector superintendent, said that State Parks cannot honor the ban. He said in order for a smoking ban to take effect on state beaches or any other state-owned land, the Legislature in Sacramento would have to pass a bill to ban smoking on all California beaches.
In Sacramento, there is movement on such legislative efforts. Recently, a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Leland Yee from San Francisco was introduced to ban smoking on California’s 64 state beaches. However, the bill failed to get enough votes by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. The committee members deadlocked on a 3-3 vote. The bill needed at least five votes to clear the nine-member committee.
The Associated Press reported that Yee’s proposal ran into opposition from senators who did not want a total ban on beach smoking, suggesting that smoking in beach parking lots be permitted.
Malibu’s beach smoking ban does not include beach parking lots. Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station Sgt. Jeff Price said that while the parking lots are technically part of the beach, especially at Zuma, citizens are authorized to smoke there.
“The parking lots are not where people go to enjoy the beach, and there are people who clean up those areas,” Price said.
Hefty fines and jail time aside, Price said despite the Sheriff’s Department’s authority to enforce the law, the goal is to get the smoke off the beach and keep the butts out of the sand.
“From my experience from walking or riding the beaches, the word is out,” Price said. “Everyone’s been very receptive.”
The smoking ban ordinance was introduced by Mayor Sharon Barovsky, who is a smoker. The councilmembers who approved it said they were concerned about the health impacts of secondhand smoke and the unsightly litter caused by cigarette butts.